Legend of Spyro: Rise of Hope
by KitsuneLeader35
Summary: The world lies on the brink of despair as the forces of darkness continue to make their advances throughout the realms. The worlds hope lies on a single dragon, will he be able to push back the darkness and restore hope to the world? Only time will tell if he can leave his mark on the world that many have abandoned.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N) I decided to attempt to write this as part of a Trilogy that expanded upon the established Legend of Spyro series and to delve into various areas that I either have barely seen or not seen at all, especially the second game in the series, LOS the Eternal Night. While the story is one of the first I'll be attempting I'm hoping that I'll be able to deliver an experience that you guys will love! And of course I own nothing of the Spyro series and it all belongs to their respective owners. Without further ado, here is the first chapter of Rise of Hope!**

An unnaturally cold breeze blew through a miniscule village hidden deep within the swamp. Nearly all of the tiny residents, known to the rest of the world as dragonflies, were tucked away inside their miniature homes sleeping through the discomforting wind that passed through the village. But the near silent breeze didn't go unnoticed to all of the villagers. One resident was currently sitting on a small hill on the outskirts of his tiny village. He was an anomaly when compared to the other villagers.

He easily towered over the town and its residents, becoming a sort of giant among the residents of this quiet village. He had horns that had a golden sheen and curved back for a short distance before ending in two points directed towards the sky. His wings were an orange shade and had a single point on the apex of each wing. His eyes had a purple sheen that seemed to shine with a hidden fire inside. His head narrowed somewhat to a squarish nose. He had spikes forming a line that ran down his back and ending at a spiral tip on his tail. His paws, while lacking the dexterity of thumbs, had a set of sharp ivory claws. His most defining feature though, was the extremely unique color of his scales. They were a royal purple, letting off a sheen that would make many do a double take. His name was Spyro, and he was uneasy. He had lost count of how many times he stared into the twin moons during the nighttime hours, wondering about what he was and of what could possibly be giving him the feeling of unnatural trepidation. The cold breeze that bit at Spyro did nothing to ease his nerves, only serving to heighten them as he drifted back into his personal realm of anxiety and melancholy. While he had grown up around the dragonflies, he had never felt at home with them. This was only made worse by the fact that whenever he attempted to ask his parents what he was, he was always met with the same reply, " We will tell you when you are older." Those words always served to make him question more about his life and what he knew. Before Spyro could contemplate more on his situation, he was pulled away from his thoughts by the approach of a certain resident.

" Spyro! hurry up and come back home! Mom and pops had me come for you so hurry up and come home so i can finally get some sleep chubby!"

A small smile graced Spyros face as he heard the voice of his brother, Sparx. Sparx was a dragonfly like the rest of the residents and gave a yellow glow wherever he went. Spyro has had Sparx for his whole life and the two were nearly inseparable pair. Sparx loved poking fun at others and couldn't resist adding his own opinion to any matter. Both Spyro and Sparx enjoyed taking jabs at each other and Sparx often focused on Spyros size, often calling him chubby or in need of a salad every once in a while. He was also an avid prankster and managed to pass this passion onto Spyro somewhat. They both committed their fair share of pranks and hijinks together often with hilarious and sometimes disastrous results. Spyro shook the memories away as he turned and faced Sparx.

"I hear ya Sparx, i'll be over there in a second so calm down glowy." Spyro replied as he began to follow Sparx towards their home. Their home was a small home, even by dragonfly standards, with Spyro having his own personal sleeping area made with the help of the villagers since Spyro was as large as most of the buildings in the miniature town.

"Finally! Come on bro, i want to get some shuteye, im sleep flying over here!"

A small smile graced Spyros face as he heard the voice of his brother, Sparx. Sparx was a dragonfly like the rest of the residents and gave a yellow glow wherever he went. Spyro has had Sparx for his whole life and the two were nearly inseparable pair. Sparx loved poking fun at others and couldn't resist adding his own opinion to any matter. Both Spyro and Sparx enjoyed taking jabs at each other and Sparx often focused on Spyros size, often calling him chubby or in need of a salad every once in a while. He was also an avid prankster and managed to pass this passion onto Spyro somewhat. They both committed their fair share of pranks and hijinks together often with hilarious and sometimes disastrous results. Spyro shook the memories away as he turned and faced Sparx.

"I hear ya Sparx, i'll be over there in a second so calm down glowy." Spyro replied as he began to follow Sparx towards their home. Their home was small home, even by dragonfly standards, with Spyro having his own personal sleeping area made with the help of the villagers since Spyro was as large as most of the buildings in the miniature town.

"Finally! Come on bro, i want to get some shuteye, im sleep flying over here!"

Spyro shook his head, a slight grin on his face as his impatient brother flew ahead of him and zoomed down the short path leading to home before flying into the house and heading straight to his bed, speeding past both the parents as they waited patiently for Spyro to return from his usual late night ventures.

"Spyro," his father, Flash, said, " you need to tell us where you are going on nights like this."

"Yes please Spyro," his mother, Nina, agreed, " You know we worry about you when you disappear like that without letting us know. Plus its getting late and you need your sleep."

"Sorry mom, Ill try to make it back earlier next time." Spyro replied sheepishly, his solemn expression quickly disappearing behind a cheerful smile.

"Better make sure you do mister, I don't want you getting hurt or getting in trouble at all." Nina replied in mock anger. Spyro chuckled as he made his way into his personal home and curling up on the grassy padding he used as his bed. As he curled up in his bed, Spyro couldn't help but to frown slightly as the same thoughts as before began to plague his mind again. He sighed and shook his head before curling slightly tighter, attempting to fall asleep and escape the worries that continued to plague his mind. As Spyro slept, his parents still hovered in front of the door to their home frowning slightly as they both knew that his mind was troubling him, as they both had raised him from birth and knew when he was attempting to hide his emotions from them but decided not to interrogate him as this often led to him repeatedly dodging the question of was troubling him. They both stared towards his bedroom for a few moments longer before turning and heading into the home to rest until the the morning.

The sun had reached mid morning before Spyro began to stir. Spyro gave a slight groan as he layed on his bed before slowly standing into a stretch before opening his mouth and expelling a loud yawn. As he ventured outside his stomach decided to inform him of the most important he needed to do right now and that was to find some food. Spyro decided to hunt for some behind his home. He didn't need to scour for long as he soon saw a small mouse scuttling in between the large mushrooms that comprised the jungle surrounding their home. Spyro dropped to a crouch as he slinked through the undergrowth, stealthily inching closer and closer to his target. He came within a few feet of the mouse as it suddenly tensed, swinging its nose left and right as it searched for the source of the disturbance. It wouldn't get the chance to escape as Spyro leapt out of hiding, jaws wide open, biting down on the mouse's neck and snapping it immediately and ending its life quickly.

Spyro then proceeded to feed on the mouse, partially filling his stomach and quenching his hunger somewhat. Once he was finished, Spyro headed off again in search for more food eventually leading to 2 additional mice to eat for his breakfast. Once he finished eating and cleaning up, he headed back towards home to find Sparx and to find ways to whittle the time away for the day. As Spyro neared the house he began to think of ways that they could entertain themselves for the day, though he never had time to fully plan out an idea because his brother came zooming towards him while letting loose his usual friendly jab.

"Morning Spyro, didn't think I was going to be able to get your big butt moving and outta bed if you were still sleeping."

Spyro grinned, rolled his eyes, and replied with mock anger, " Says the miniature lantern that probably couldn't outrun a butterfly."

At this, Sparx had a mischievous glint in his eyes and said, "Oh, please you couldn't even catch me if you tried."

"Oh I bet that I easily will be able to grab you long before you know what hit ya!" Spyro shot back, as he crouched down and prepared to give the dragonfly the surprise of his life. Sparx noticed this and flew a few feet away and said, "You wont be able to even get close to me!"

Spyro didn't bother to reply as he immediately gave chase as he attempted to outrun the dragonfly. The brothers ran off deeper into the mushroom jungle, neither noticing that they were running deeper and deeper into the jungle as both were solely focused on winning the impromptu competition.

 **(A/N) Boy who knew exposition could be such a pain? I'm hoping to upload these at least once a week and keep a consistent schedule and also at a decent time since many wont be willing to wait till one in the morning for these chapters! Please Rate and Review, every little criticism helps! Thanks for reading and hopefully I'll see you next time on Rise of Hope!**


	2. Chapter 2

**(A/N) This chapter came out a lot quicker then I anticipated thanks in part to having the actual game so I could cross reference it so I didn't make any major mistakes. Ill keep working on pushing these out as much as I can but in the meantime, Here's the latest chapter of Rise of Hope! Oh and I don't own Spyro or anything like that, god knows if I did I would definitely change some things and have kept that movie going!**

As they ran further and further into the jungle, Spyro suddenly lost focus as he felt something almost watching him, causing shivers to run down his back. As he wondered what could possibly be out there that could cause such fear to rise in him, he was suddenly brought out of his reverie by a large gap that Sparx had crossed and was now proceeding to taunt him about.

"Oh what's wrong Spyro can't fly?" Sparx teased, "Oh thats right you walk everywhere, that's too bad."

Spyro glanced at the gap for a moment before replying,"You're toast when I catch you!"

"As if big purple," retorted Sparx, "You won't even come close, better to give up now!"

Spyro let out a snort as he studied the gap. There were roots that seemed to create a bridge that he could easily walk on to reach Sparx. Letting out a sigh at his brothers apparent stupidity, Spyro began to calmly walk across the makeshift bridge. Spyro had managed to make it about fourth of the way across before he suddenly felt the bridge give way beneath him. Spyro let out a gasp as he fell towards the ground below. The ground wasn't too far from the root bridge but that didn't prevent Spyro from letting out a groan of pain once he hit the ground. As he picked himself up off the ground, he could hear Sparx laughing uncontrollably at him as he slowly climbed his way back to the beginning of the bridge. As Spyro stood there, trying to figure out how he could cross the gap and close the gap between his brother and himself before he noticed the roots that had collapsed on him begin to return to their normal positions.

As Spyro watched the roots, a grin formed on his face as an idea began to form in his mind. Spyro waited until the roots had finished moving in their respective positions to slowly and deliberately begin lowering a paw onto the first root. He kept a view on Sparx out of the corner of his eye and watched as his grin only grew as he watched Spyro seeming to hesitate to stand on the root again. A sly smile formed on Spyros face as his paw finally stood on the root and immediately pushed off giving Spyro the momentum to begin sprinting towards the other side. The smile grew to a giant grin as Sparx stopped smiling and adopted a worried expression on his face as he watched Spyro cross the bridge with ease. As Spyro neared the other side of the strange bridge he leapt, aiming to catch Spax and finish their game quickly. Spyro was only a foot away when Sparx suddenly flew back, causing Spyro to overshoot and skitter across the ground awkwardly while attempting to not land face first.

Spyro could hear Sparx laughing uncontrollably as he finally managed to steady himself and immediately began chasing after Sparx, who had flown ahead and was taunting him the whole way.

"Come on big guy, I'm not even trying. You really need to try unless you like losing all the time." Sparx taunted as he flitted just outside of Spyro's reach. Spyro never got the chance to retort as Sparx had the unfortunate luck of running into a frogweed that did not hesitate in swallowing Sparx with the intent of making him his next meal. Spyro couldn't help chuckling as Sparx exclaimed, "Alright let me outta here you overgrown fungus!"

Spyro watched as Sparx attempted to escape his plant prison before sighing and saying, "Spyro, seriously lend a hand would ya brother?"

"I don't know Sparx, a frogweed has to eat too." Spyro replied, content on letting the dragonfly stay in the creature's stomach for a little longer since he knew he wasn't in immediate danger.

"Come on Spyro whack it or something! Im your bro, plus my wings are getting moldy." Sparx argued, as he continued his futile attempts of making the frogweed spit him out. Spyro rolled his eyes and approached the frogweed. He lashed out with his claws and ripped open the creature, allowing Sparx to escape from the confines of its stomach.

"Great now I smell almost as bad as you do, and that's pretty bad! Cya later sucker!" exclaimed Sparx as he flew away, intent on continuing this game and becoming the victor.

" Geez not even a thanks for saving him." Spyro then sighed and began to race after him, a small grin forming on his face as he imagined the look on Sparx's face when he would be caught by Spyro. They continued their dash into the forest, with Sparx focusing so he could avoid another incident like that while Spro had to slice the few unfortunate frogweeds that had decided to attempt to impede his progress. Spyro nearly managed to catch the dragonfly before he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks due to the sight before him. A large skull of a snake that once thrived in this section of the mushroom forest. Sparx continued inside seemingly unaware of Spyro's hesitation until he heard him say, "Come on Sparx, you know we aren't supposed to go in there! That's cheating!"

"Pfft excuses, excuses. Catch up or give up chunky!" taunted Sparx, as he turned and proceeded further into the tunnel hidden behind the serpent's skull. Spyro sighed and was going to begin following his brother when suddenly he felt the same unease that had haunted him at the beginning return even more intense than before. He felt the need to turn back and inform Nina and Flash so they could get Sparx, but he shook it off and continued to follow his brother since he knew that the jungle was a mostly harmless place with the worst that he has seen being the frogweeds that were prevalent throughout the jungle. As he came near the skull he looked for a place he could slip through but the teeth were too closely packed so he decided to begin chipping away at the two front teeth, which had the biggest gap requiring the least amount of work. It only took a few slices before the ancient bone broke away and allowed entrance into the tunnel. As he squeezed his way inside, Spyro looked into the tunnel and couldn't see a single hint of the telltale yellow glow that signified where his brother was.

"Where did that little gnat fly off to now?" Spyro mumbled under his breath, becoming annoyed by the fact that he'll have to now also try to find his brother as well as navigating a potentially dangerous area. He didn't have to wonder for long as he soon heard Sparx expressing his own frustration in his usual manner coming from further inside the tunnel.

"Did anybody see a big purple thing around here? I seem to have lost mine." Sparx announced. At this Spyro began moving stealthily through the tunnel as he focused on scaring Sparx and winning this little competition of theirs by snatching him outta the air when he least expects it. Spyro sneaked through the tunnel and ended up nearly directly behind Sparx. The moment he emerged from the tunnel he found out that Sparx waiting for him and as Sparx opened his mouth to let off a witty remark he was suddenly snatched away by a large ape that had appeared out of nowhere and began running away from Spyro, who immediately began to give chase. Spyro didnt need to run very far as the apes seemed to back themselves into a corner. The largest of the group, who Spyro guessed was the leader, said "I thought all youz guys was gone."

This immediately stopped any thoughts that were currently running through his mind and replaced it all with a single burning question; what did he mean by that? Spyro's first idea was that he was referring to the dragonflies but that made no sense since he had heard multiple times that there were various dragonfly villages throughout the area. Then what could the leader possibly mean? As Spyro tried to voice his question, he was interrupted by Sparx who seemed determined to let them know exactly how he felt.

"Let me outta here you coward!" Sparx yelled out as he shook the small cage that the apes had imprisoned him within. The leader began laughing at the dragonfly before turning to face Spyro. A creepy grin adorned his face as he said, "Don't let him get away."

As the other apes dropped down to advance on Spyro he crouched down and growled, focused on saving Sparx and winning this fight. The apes taunted Spyro for a moment before the one on the right rushed Spyro, intent on running him over. Spyro charged forward, meeting the ape head on and knocking him onto his back. He couldn't get up as Spyro landed on top of him and proceeded to tear out his throat with his teeth, leaving the ape to let out a few strangled gurgles as it bled out on the floor. The other ape rushed towards Spyro while he was focused on his comrade and threw a punch right into his side. This knocked Spyro off the dead ape and forcefully removed the air from his lungs. While Spyro remained upright, he was gasping for air as the remaining ape began to close in. Once the ape got close Spyro lashed out with his tail, slicing through the ape's stomach and forcing the ape to stumble back until his throat was pierced by the tail.

Once Spyro defeated the last ape he turned to the leader, intent on finishing the fight now. The leader smiled as he let out a war cry, causing more apes to join the fray and surround Spyro. Spyro immediately charged at the encircling enemy, piercing them in the stomach while also breaking through and gaining some breathing room. Pulling his horns out of his dead foe, Spyro turned to the remaining apes which numbered 5 in all. A few were carrying rudimentary clubs for weaponry and they attempted to strike first. As they advanced on Spyro, he managed to kill another ape with a tail stab to the chest before being violently thrown backwards by a club to the chest. Spyro groaned as he staggered to his feet and managed to kill one of the weaponless apes that tried to tackle him to the ground by letting him pierce himself on his horns. Spyro scraped off the ape as the last of the weaponless apes rushed towards him and managed to claw his face, leaving long cuts running down the side.

Spyro retaliated with his own claws, slashing the ape's chest and leaving him to stumble back in surprise for a moment before collapsing onto the floor. The last two apes, both wielding clubs, advanced on Spyro in unison intent on overpowering him and beating him into the ground. Spyro advanced on the ape on the left, provoking it into swinging with all its might at him. Spyro dropped back quickly, causing the ape to overswing and leaving an opening for Spyro to tackle the ape and claw his throat out. The last ape took this opportunity to hit Spyro with his club, sending him onto his side and causing Spyro to shout out in pain. The ape grinned as he heard the pained yell and advanced, intent on ending Spyro's life. Spyro struggled onto his feet as he attempted not to drop onto the floor and focused on the final ape. Pooling all his strength into his legs and charged the ape, catching him off guard and causing him to stumble back. He never got the chance to recover as Spyro sliced at his legs, causing him to fall onto his knees and allowing his neck to come into convenient biting range. After having dispatched the last ape, he advanced towards the leader intent on stopping him. As Spyro closed in, Sparx had decided to again begin agitating the ape.

"Let me outta here and fight me like a… whatever you are you pathetic wretch!" As Spyro neared the ape had decided that he has had enough with the annoying dragonfly and set the small cage on the ground. Spyro believed that they were leaving Sparx and were going to leave but horror quickly overtook him as he saw the leader raise his foot, intent on killing the helpless dragonfly in the cage. Spyro looked on in horror when suddenly he felt his anger and determination to save his brother seeming to culminate in his throat. He felt that it seemed near bursting and suddenly felt the need to release it. He opened his jaws and while expecting a loud roar of anger, he suddenly began to breathe fire towards the ape. The ape received the full force of the flames and stumbled back and screamed in agony for a few moments as his skin was turned into ash and he fell to the ground dead and horribly burned. As Spyro tried to understand what happened, he suddenly saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Spyro turned and saw an ape trying and failing to hide high above him. Once he saw that he was spotted he turned and ran away. As Spyro focused on getting Sparx out of his cage, Sparx decided to raise a question that he wanted answered. "Did you just seriously breathe fire dude?!"

Spyro frowned slightly as he replied, "I'm not entirely sure what I just did Sparx."

"Ill tell you what you just did man, you breathed fire out of nowhere!" Sparx exclaimed as Spyro finally managed to let him free from his cage and he began flying around him erratically.

"I know Sparx, but are you alright?"

"You almost tricked me dude, but more importantly we seriously need to tell mom and the old man what happened!" Sparx exclaimed as he headed towards the tunnel, aiming to head straight home. Spyro hesitated before limping him, knowing that whatever happened next would change his life forever.

 **(A/N) Rate and Review people, helps me out more than you expect!**


	3. Chapter 3

**(A/N) Wow, I have been really pumping out these chapters huh? I'm hoping I can keep up the pace and keep the story going for as long as I can. Also a Beta Reader would be greatly appreciated since I know I'm far from perfect with the story. But without further ado, the next chapter of Rise of Hope!**

As Spyro continued back through the path to his home, he felt the adrenaline in his body wear off and was nearly knocked off his feet by the waves of fatigue that overcame him as the cost of the battle began to fully weigh down on him. He was forced to stop for a moment, attempting to gather himself and the strength to reach home and safety. As he began walking again he would stop and focus on any unfamiliar noise, with paranoia and his mind running rampant on hidden apes lurking and waiting for his moment of weakness. The thoughts of this scenario caused his mind to override all other thoughts and to escape as quickly as possible. He began to move faster and eventually into a dead sprint through the jungle, much to the screaming protests of his tired body. He burst out into the open near his home in a dead sprint as he outran the enemies that his mind was convinced were right behind him. As his home suddenly came into the open, he slowed down to a stop as he attempted to calm his frayed nerves. He started moving again towards his room to attempt to let his many bruises and cuts heal, hoping that he could dodge questions until later. As he passed by where the rest of his family usually slept, he could hear Sparx's excited chatter as he was excitedly explaining what had transpired not even an hour earlier. Spyro didn't want to stop and talk with Flash or Nina since he knew that they would lose it once they saw all the injuries that he had sustained. The moment he was inside his room, he flopped down onto his bed and immediately slipped into unconsciousness.

"And then he breathed fire! I mean I was ready to kick the butt of all those ugly apes but then Spyro just began breathing fire! I know you may not believe me it seriously happened!" Sparx argued, as he finished the extensive story he had created about how he had fought the apes all the way to their leader only to have Spyro scare him off with fire.

"Its not that I don't believe you Sparx, in fact we both do but it's more that we are worried that the day has finally arrived." explained Flash. After hearing that Sparx became curious and asked, "What are you talking about pops? Is there something you're hiding from Spyro and me?"

"Its a long story Sparx but we first must find Spyro, did he go straight to his room?" asked Flash. Sparx shook his head and replied, "I don't know, I thought he followed me but I didn't see him when I came inside."

"Lets go see if he's in his room then, I want to make sure he has made it home and is alright first." suggested Nina as she began to head to the door. Flash and Sparx nodded and followed her, wanting to be reassure themselves that Spyro had returned home safely. As they followed Nina outside and into Spyro's bedroom, both Nina and Flash gasped at Spyro's condition. While he seemed to be sleeping somewhat soundly, he had multiple bruises on both his sides and a very prominent row of three gashes that had left small trails of blood running down his face. Nina turned to Flash and Sparx and said, "Sparx get me some water and cloth and Flash, get some cool mud, while it won't be perfect it'll help with the swelling." As the two flew off to grab the materials she needed, Nina turned to Spyro and sighed. It broke her heart to see her son like this and she was going to do all she could so he would hopefully heal quickly.

Spyro struggled to wakefulness, having been disturbed from his slumber by the feeling of something being spread on his sides and something also moving across his face. He pawed at his face, trying to get whatever it was to stop harassing him before he heard a voice begin to chastise him. "Spyro, don't do that! I need you to hold still so i can clean you up." Nina chastised. Spyro stopped himself and lowered his paw to the ground and tried to lay as still as he felt Nina continue to clean out his cuts.

"Geez Spyro you look pretty bad, but then again you look pretty ugly already." said Sparx, as he flew into Spyro's view. Spyro chuckled before replying, "At least I wasn't used as a lantern."

"I could've started kicking butt anytime I wanted to but i decided to let you handle them and get a taste of the action." Sparx retorted, but before Spyro could respond they were both silenced by Nina who gave both of them a scathing glare that silenced them both.

"Spyro, I heard that you did something amazing today while helping out your brother." said Nina, causing Spyro to suddenly become nervous and remain silent for a moment before managing to say, "I… seriously have no idea what came over me. I felt such anger and determination to stop them and to save Sparx and it just came out. I couldn't control myself and I scared myself by how destructive it is."

"Spyro," said Flash, gaining Spyro's attention as he was revealed to be the one spreading the mud on his bruises,"I understand that you may be frightened by this unknown power you hold but it is completely natural for you." This confused Spyro, causing him to become reminded of a question that had decided to resurface from the events that had happened earlier.

"Mom, Dad… I wanna ask a question, before the fight the leader said that he believed that all of us were gone already. What did he mean by that? After all dragonflies aren't that rare are they?" After asking this question there was an uncomfortable silence that lingered through the air for a few moments before Flash spoke up. " Spyro, there is a reason he said that. It is because you aren't from here. You come from a place of constant war, often where the innocent pay the price of this constant turmoil." The moment he said this, both of them could feel Spyro tensing up beneath them in shock as the weight of the message sank in.

"What? What do you mean that I'm not from here? I am your son, ain't I?" Spyro questioned, as his mind struggled to come to terms with the fact that he could potentially have never came from here. While most of his mind was trying to deal with the shock, a small part of him whispered about how the signs were there all along. You knew you never fit in, it seemed to say, you've always felt out of place here. Not only that, said the voice, but also in the fact that you never even looked remotely similar to any of the dragonflies that have ever lived here. As Spyro battled with his internal turmoil, he was suddenly pulled out of his trance like state by Nina as she explained to him how they came upon him.

"Spyro, you weren't born here. Thirteen years ago we found an egg that seemed to have floated downriver and washed up near our riverside community. It was on that day that you were born. While seeing you for the first time scared many of us half to death, we eventually took you under our wing and had raised you ever since. While you may not have been born here, you are still part of this family."

"But then since I'm not your son," Spyro questioned, "then i must not be a dragonfly. The question now is… What am I?" Flash decided to answer that question and replied, "Spyro, the answer to that is simple, you are a dragon." That answer caused both Spyro and Sparx to freeze as the both visibly gawked as shock overcame both their faces. Hours seemed to pass in the stunned silence as they both struggled with the newfound realization. But after what seemed to be an eternity Spyro finally managed to say, "So I'm a dragon then." Sparx then found his voice and decided to add his opinion, "Yea who knew? Least that gave you the excuse you needed to explain being chunky." This pulled a chuckle out of Spyro, though the room still remained laced with tension. This time it was Nina who broke the silence by saying, "There, you should feel better in the morning." She then patted the cloth bandages covering the cuts on the side of his face and said, "I know this has been stressful for you dear so try to get some rest and remember that you are our son, no matter the circumstances."

"Thanks Mom, Thanks Dad for always being with me." said Spyro as the three came together with Flash and Nina hugging Spyro's snout.

"No problem son, now get some rest. Come on Sparx, let Spyro rest." said Flash as he headed towards the door. Sparx stayed behind a moment longer and said to Spyro, "Doesn't matter however you got here, you are still my bro no matter what."

"Thanks Sparx." said Spyro, as he settled into his bed. Sparx left the room and Spyro was nearly asleep when he was awoken by a sudden rumble. He looked around the room, surprised, before noticing that it was his stomach letting out the awful noise. He hadn't eaten in quite a while, so he snuck out to catch a meal before returning to his bed and curling up on the padding. As he slipped into unconsciousness, one thought pervaded his mind. I have to leave, Spyro thought, I have to go and see where I had been born. And with that final thought he fell asleep as his mind created images of proud creatures, all ready and willing to show him his home.

 **(A/N) As always rate and review as it always helps me out in spotting any problems with the story!**


	4. Chapter 4

**(A/N) This one took longer then expected due to my brother finally arriving home and me going to catch up with him and simply mess around. Its nice having him back but a bit of a pain to deal with him. Anyways without further ado, here is the next chapter of Rise of Hope!**

Spyro awoke to find that it that the sun hasn't risen yet, leaving his home in a twilight gloom. Spyro looked over himself to find that the swelling had gone down but his sides were still tender. It also appeared that Nina and Flash had come inside during the night to wash off the mud and to check on his cuts. He smiled at how much they had cared for him before an immediate sense of guilt overwhelmed him. He knew that he would have to leave everything behind, so Spyro debated leaving immediately to spare the heartache of seeing his foster family most likely attempt to stop him. His determination was already wavering and should they appear he didn't know if he could leave them. Shoving the doubts towards the back of his mind, Spyro quietly walked past the house and started down the trail before pausing. He looked back, with his doubts returning full force and have him reconsider the insane idea. Again he shook off the thoughts and turned away to continue along the path to a home that he has only heard of. As the house faded from view, one last doubt tried to keep him at bay.

"So you are just going to leave then? No goodbye, not even gonna bring along your bro?" Spyro flinched as he heard the last voice he wanted to hear. Spyro then turned to face Sparx and hesitated. He knew that Sparx was right to be accusing, especially since he was leaving without so much as a goodbye. He knew how bad that seemed but he couldn't face them with this decision. But before Spyro could reply, Sparx had noticed the hesitation on his face and interrupted by saying, "I thought we did everything together, but you know me. I always wrong with these things. Good luck finding the other dragons Spyro." On that note, Sparx flew away, heading back toward to his home. Spyro couldn't form any words at that moment, only gawking as Sparx left him alone before finally managing to form words that now couldn't reach him. For a moment, Spyro contemplated chasing after Sparx and apologizing for even attempting to leave him and his parents behind. But he knew that if he did, he would never know where he actually came from or exactly who he was. He knew that he was a dragon but he felt that there was something more that he must find, something that could fill in the large gaps that he had in his near non existent knowledge on dragons. Those thoughts rooted him to the spot as they managed to stifle the voice that had been screaming at him to abandon this deranged quest. With a heavy heart, Spyro turned away from the only home that he had ever known and began his quest to discover who and what he was and to hopefully find dragons just like him.

Spyro trudged down the trail, not knowing exactly where he was heading but knowing that if he followed the trail he would find civilization. Hours seemed to drag on for eternity as his mind continually rewinded to those moments with Sparx, the look of betrayal and the hurt in his voice as he berating the purple dragon for leaving everything behind. As he wallowed in his pity, he was suddenly ripped away from his depression as he saw a shadow flit across his stopped and watched, searching for the source of the shadow. Nothing else seemed to appear and Spyro almost dismissed it as his own paranoia before he heard a sound that made his blood turn ice cold. A hollow mocking laugh cut through the air, shattering the silence and placing Spyro on edge. As he attempted to locate the source of the voice, more and more voices started to join the first in mocking him and instilling an overriding fear into the very core of his being. As the laughter seemed to drill into his mind, he began imagining the shadows morphing into countless apes that were watching him and ready to swoop in and tear him limb from limb.

This became too much for him and he immediately began sprinting in a blind panic, not knowing where he was going but wanting to escape the apes that seemed to be all around him. Even as he ran the voices seemed to keep pace, continuing their torment on Spyro as he continued his blind dash of fear into the unknown. The voices eventually faded away but Spyro continued running long after the voices had stopped chasing him, eventually simply collapsing into a heap as he gasped for air and choked back a cry of fear. He didn't know how long he stayed there before he finally managed to pull himself together but once he had he noticed that the sun had reached midday. As he calmed himself, he felt his stomach gnaw at him but ignored it at the moment. After that incident he could barely pull himself together and finding something to eat would be impossible since his shaking would alert anything that he was attempting to hunt. After pulling himself onto his feet, he continued to walk being thankful that his fearful run had enough sense to stay on the path. He reached an open area before being stopped by a very familiar voice.

"Hey Spyro I wanted to talk to ya for a second." At the sound of that Spyro had to contain himself and spun around slowly to face the dragonfly. As soon as he had Spyro's attention he continued, "So me and the old man were chatting and the subject of you came up. We talked about it and eventually decided that brothers need to stay together, even if one of them has some weight issues. So what do ya say? Ready to continue with this crazy quest?"

Spyro could barely keep the quiver out of his voice as he answered, "Of course Sparx, I wouldnt imagine anybody else on my side." At this Sparx couldn't contain himself any longer and launched himself at Spyro, attempting to wrap his arms around Spyro's snout in a tight hug.

"Good cause what would you do without me?" questioned Sparx, breaking the silence that had fallen over the two of them. Before Spyro could shoot back a witty retort, an unnatural roar blasted them from all around. Both of them immediately began looking around for the source of the noise before Sparx yells out, "Lets get out of the open, I don't feel like dying already from whatever that was!" Sparx shot away towards a cave entrance on the far side as Spyro caught a glimpse of what he believed had created that ungodly sound. The creature's silhouette was a long slender build with wings that seemed to occupy a large amount of the space around it. The wings themselves seemed full of holes and it only added to the ghostly appearance of the creature. Spyro didnt catch much more detail, not that he needed anymore on the frightening creature, as he sprinted for the cover that the cave seemed to provide.

As Spyro ran deeper into the cave, he stopped suddenly when he was confronted by a view that he believed he would never see. Another dragon was lurking in the cave and he seemed to stare intently at Spyro, slightly unnerving Spyro but not deterring him. The dragon had 4 horns on the top of his head, along with flame-shaped spikes that rolled down his back before ending in a flame pattern that covered the last few inches of his tail. His scales were a bright orange while his underbelly was a muted whitish color. The most defining feature was the size of the dragon. It easily stood at least twice as tall, if not more, than Spyro and easily tripled his wingspan. As Spyro stood in awe of the dragon, it decided to speak and said, "You're…. You're alive! But its too late, much too late." This pulled Spyro from his gawking as he asked, "You know me? Where do I come from? Who exactly are you? Exactly what are we? What am I? How do you know me and what are we too late for?" As soon as he heard that, the other dragon became surprised and asked, "You mean you have no idea?"

"Does it sound like he even has a clue?" Sparx remarked sarcastically. The dragon then began to explain, "You're a dragon. It was my job to protect you and all the eggs. There were four of us, Guardians that is, and our job was to make sure that all the eggs are hatched. It was the Year of the Dragon and our survival depended on the eggs. But the Temple and Grotto are gone, overrun by -" The dragon seemed to pause at this moment and thats when Spyro decided to launch his barrage of growing questions.

"Temple? What Temple are you talking about? Can I see it? Where I came from, I mean." questioned Spyro. The dragon shook his head disapprovingly at this and said, "No no, who knows what lies within the temple know or whether or it's still able to stand? You don't understand, when they came after you-" At this Spyro intervened again by asking, "They? Who are they? and why are they after me?"

"Because the prophecies spoke of a purple dragon, one is born only once every ten generations," he began to explain, "and that dragon is you." Sparx decided to then voice his opinion on the matter, "Wait, this guy? Spyro is one special once in a purple thing?" Sparx laughed at this and continued, "I think you might have messed that one up. Wooo, thats a little… bit of a stretch there. Ive heard some doozies in my day, but that one takes the cake." The dragon ignored Sparx and said,"Spyro is it? Well i can assure you that I'm telling the truth. The Dark Armies attacked with the intention of destroying all the eggs and killing the rest of us. They nearly succeeded but still continued to lay siege to the other islands. We were at war as for many years we constantly battled back and forth throughout the islands. The three other Guardians and I led the forces into battle after battle against our ruthless mercenary for. As we began to turn the tide, they unleashed Cynder. Cynder was…. is monstrous, horrific, and ferocious. A black dragon that fills the sky with terror, an unstoppable force of nature-" Sparx then interrupted again by saying, "Yeah.. You had me at ferocious but listen, it sounds like the thing that was chasing us earlier, Spyro." Spyro nodded as the dragon affirmed, "Yes, she still searches for me.. and years ago I watched as one by one the Guardians were picked off the battlefield by Cynder like ripe grapes from the vine. Without the other Guardians, our cause is lost. Only I, Ignitus managed to escape, not that it matters anymore. Cynder now rules all and I simply sit and wonder what I could have done and would have been." An awkward silence fell over the three as Ignitus sat with a far off look in his eyes, reliving the terrible moments that lead to the loss of the other Guardians.

"Wow… Sounds.. fun. I wanna hang out with this guy." Sparx said, in an attempt to lighten the mood of an already dread filled atmosphere. Spyro locked eyes with Ignitus, his tone questioning and determination burning in his eyes as he said, "Yea why did you give up? I just finally found out who I am and you tell me its all over? That I have no home or family or family left?" Spyro paused for a moment as he felt his anger course through him since he wanted to see his home and he wouldn't stop now or even become discouraged simply because of one dragon that felt fit to stay in his melancholy forever. Spyro barely held back the anger in his voice as he continued, "I've come too far to give up now! I wanna see where I came from and I wanna know about myself and how I fit into all of this!" Ignitus and even Sparx was shocked from the sheer determination and strength that flowed from each word. Sparx recovered enough to try to dissuade his brother.

"Hold up savior boy, were you not listening to this guy?" Sparx argued, "He's talking about flying dragons, war, and horrible… this is bad stuff alright? I dont know if we're hearing the same things here." Ignitus nodded and said, "Yes, Spyro, it's not as simple as that. Its true that the prophecies spoke of a purple dragon destined to put his mark on this age, but the prophecies did not foretell the devastation that surrounds us now." This didn't dissuade Spyro as he wasn't willing to back down and said, "Maybe you're right, but I'm willing to try. I want to take the first step!"

"Youre actually going to go along with this lunatic?" Sparx questioned. Before Spyro could retort Ignitus suddenly caved to Spyro's demands and said, "Very well then, We'll go. You deserve to see your beginning before it all ends." Ignitus then turned and proceeded deeper into the cave, leaving Spyro and Sparx to follow. As Sparx followed he said, "Am I the only sane one here? He's telling us we are doomed alright?" but Spyro didn't pay attention to him. With determination guiding his every step, Spyro proceeded onward determined to see his home and to reclaim it from the evils that lurked within.

 **(A/N) Don't forget to R &R everyone! Cya all in the next chapter of Rise of Hope!**


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N) Sorry that this was later then usual but I had a bunch of family stuff to take care of as well as taking care of work. The next chapter won't come for a week or more as I'll be going on a family vacation to D.C. and I won't have as much of a chance to focus on writing. Plus with Football practice, work, and a few other extra curricular activities It'll be more difficult to get chapters out. But hopefully I'll be able to take care of that easily enough. So without further ado, here is the next chapter of Rise of Hope!**

The three continued on father into the dim cave before reaching a closed doorway on the other side of an open cave with a collapsed ceiling. The doorway had 3 orbs laid equidistance from each other on the circular border that surrounded the doorway. Ignitus paused for a moment causing Spyro begin to ask what was wrong before silencing himself in order to hear the strange command that Ignitus was speaking.

"The past is prelude, tomorrow a dim promise. Allow us entrance, do not reject us." While Spyro stayed silent while absorbing the mystic sounding phrase, Sparx voiced his doubtfulness.

"Did you just make that up? It sounds like complete crap." Ignitus shook his head and replied, "The door should be opening to us but isn't. There must be a disturbance. It means that my fears are realized and they are pervading the temple interior, this means you'll have go through that opening," he said pointing to a crumbled section of wall where the opening was just above Ignitus's head, "and push back the Dark Armies that are most likely pervading through the rooms. The door won't open until they are all gone." Spyro nodded as Sparx decided to again add his opinion to the matter.

"Lets just don't and say we didn't. Why dont you do it?" Sparx criticized as he stared at Ignitus, attempting to stare him down.

"You want my help? Fine." replied Ignitus, unflinchingly holding Sparx's gaze in a silent contest of wills for a moment before turning and heading towards the hole in the wall and positioning himself as an impromptu ladder. "Finally looks like the big guy is coming to life." Sparx remarked, as Spyro clambered onto Ignitus's back before finally managing to jump up and scrabble at the ledge for a moment before pulling himself up and into the hole.

"Remember to be careful Spyro, Cynder's forces are not to be taken lightly." warned Ignitus, causing Sparx to reply, "Oh goody, it'll just be grand dealing with them." Spyro nodded before turning to face the faintly illuminated path before him. As he followed the trail, Spyro stumbled upon a cluster of gems that were radiating a faint glow. The gems surface seemed perfect, while the inside of the crystal seemed to swirl with a rainbow of colors that seemed to draw him in. Spyro tuned out the rest of the world as he stared into the crystal's depths. It seemed to call for him and fill with an unknown desire. He could barely register his thoughts as he felt his body move of its own accord. Suddenly it ended as quickly as it began, leaving Spyro somewhat confused and disappointed as he stared at where the crystal had once been. It had seemed that during his trance he had struck the crystal with his claws and shattered the surprisingly fragile crystal into much smaller pieces. He then decided to pick up a shard and began to examine it, but he hadn't gotten much than a second to study its features before the shard began to glow brightly. Spyro and Sparx stared in amazement as the crystal absorbed into Spyro's paw, causing him to suddenly feel a slight rush of energy. As he wondered what happened he noticed something that had occurred once the crystal was absorbed. His bruises from yesterday, which were still visible but less severe than before, had disappeared completely. This shocked Spyro but also made him curious. He attempted to achieve the same result from the last crystal as he grabbed a new shard and waited for something to occur. He wasn't disappointed as the crystal shard repeated the process and filled Spyro with even more strength. Spyro then checked the side of his face, paw searching for the tell tale marks but could find none. It seemed that the crystal shard had made him as good as new. Spyro continued to gathering and using the crystal shards until he felt completely reinvigorated. Spyro stood there amazed at the power of the crystals before Sparx brought him back to reality by saying, "What the hell was that Spyro? Are you doing magic tricks now with these crystals?" Spyro smiled for a moment but that was quickly reduced to a frown as he wondered what could have compelled him to suddenly destroy the crystal. He may have needed the energy boost since he had to admit that it has been a very long exhausting day for him and the healing factor also made things alot easier for him to deal with. After a few more moments of silence Spyro admitted, "I have no idea Sparx. I just suddenly got the urge to break it and when I did, those crystals just healed me completely and have me feeling like I am at my best right now. Whatever kind of crystals they are, we need to keep an eye out so we can keep ourselves together if we screw up." Sprx laughed at this and said, "Correction, if you screw up with that weight of yours chunky." A chuckle left Spyro's mouth before he focused on the tunnel before him and began following the path leading to the rooms that they would have to clear out in order to open the door.

As Spyro entered the first room, he found two apes that sat in the middle of the chamber with both seeming to be on the verge of falling asleep. He frowned internally as he noticed this, with luck he could have slipped by both of them and continued on undetected, but he had no choice but to kill them. Spyro slowly crawled out of the tunnel, hugging the right wall and slowly maneuvering behind the two unsuspecting guards. After a few tense minutes, Spyro had managed to be directly behind them as he prepared to end their lives. They never stood a chance as Spyro's tail sprouted out of the chest of the surprised right guard in a shower of blood and bone and shocking the left guard for long enough that Spyro managed to jump onto the guard's back and end his life with a quick snap of his jaws, snapping his neck and ending the one sided battle before the guard could even gasp in surprise. Spyro stood there for a moment, alert as he searched for a sign of any other apes coming to check out the disturbance. Once he was sure that the coast was clear, he continued onward to the next chamber.

Reaching the next chamber he found the chamber surprisingly void of life, with bodies of the apes being scattered around the chamber as well as the corpses of other strange creatures. These creatures seemed to be oversized spiders with imprints on their large abdomen that seemed to help the creature camouflage as one of the many mushrooms that littered the jungle. As he came closer to the carnage he noticed that quite a few of the apes had puncture wounds and little else, while there were others that seemed to have been partially eaten. This made Spyro conclude that running into even one of these creatures could easily end his life so he became extra wary of the mushrooms that were lining the walls of the tunnels so far.

"Well great, now we have giant deadly spiders. Definitely can't get any worse now." Sparx complained, before Spyro shushed him and focused back towards the tunnel. As he made his way through the tunnel to the next room he focused on each mushroom, studying it to look for any signs of life or irregularities that could give the spiders away. He had reached about three fourths of the way through the tunnel before he heard a near imperceptible scratching noise. Spinning quickly to face the source of the noise, Spyro's blood ran cold as he watched mushroom after mushroom sprung to life as hundreds of beady eyes focused themselves onto Spyro. The tension seemed to go on for an eternity as the stare off froze Spyro in place with the spiders having their emotionless eyes locked on him. Then, as if by a silent signal, all hell seemed to break loose with the spiders beginning to chase after Spyro while he turned and ran the last stretch of the tunnel before bursting out into the chamber and into a rather large ape. They each seemed shocked by the other's presence but before any further action could be taken, the first wave of spiders smashed into the apes and causing the chamber to erupt into chaos. Spyro, being the small target he already was, was soon forgotten about in the melee as the apes were desperately attempting to hold their position against their spider counterparts. As Spyro weaved his way through the chaos, he was suddenly rammed into a nearby ape by a spider that had singled him out as his target. The spider wasted no time and quickly began to close the distance. Spyro panicked as he desperately thought of a way to avoid melee combat with the spider before he suddenly got an idea. He began to focus and felt a heat gather within his throat, while the spider continued his advance to end Spyro's life. The spider was nearly on top of Spyro when he felt that it needed to be released. He exhaled a wave of flames that quickly engulfed the spider in the smothering embrace of heat. The spider continued his advance for a few feet before collapsing in front of Spyro. Spyro gasped for air for a few moments as he smiled internally from how he had pulled out his flames faster and stronger than before. Maybe more use will make it easier, Spyro thought as he continued his escape through the throngs of chaotic fighting. but before he had gotten too far he was tackled from behind and sent sprawling onto the floor. Spyro struggled to clear his mind as his head swirled from the abuse it took earlier. The ape, however, advanced mercilessly and with a murderous gleam in his eye as he raised what Spyro recognized as a saber.

The ape raised his weapon high above head as he placed all his strength into delivering the deadly blow before suddenly being smashed into the floor by a spider that had dropped from the ceiling. The ape never had a chance as the spider sunk its fangs deep inside the ape's neck and held him down as he feebly attempted to shake the spider off before succumbing to the poison's effects and drawing his last breath. The moment he stopped moving the spider began feasting on the corpse of the ape. Spyro watched, horrified, as the spider ripped chunk after chunk as it devoured the poor victim and reducing him to a puddle of bones, blood, and chunks of remaining meat. Spyro's eyes had grown wide as he imagined himself in the poor ape's position should he had continued to panic earlier. He could almost feel the fangs piercing his skin, the spider ripping him to shreds as he stayed conscious during the whole ordeal. Spyro would've stayed rooted to the place in fear until he was ripped back to reality by Sparx.

"Goddamnit Spyro, wake up! We need to run, now!" Sparx yelled, his miniature face mere inches from the stunned dragon. Spyro, having had Sparx's words reach through the mental fog that surrounded his mind, manage to struggle out a reply.

"Y-Yea, you're right. Let's ge-, Let's go." Spyro sputtered, as the words seemed to have difficulty escaping his mouth. After a few moments, he managed to get his paws moving again and began to sprint towards the exit, hoping to go undetected but sadly that was not meant to be. The sound of chittering made Spyro's blood run cold as he noticed the spiders finishing off the last of their ape victims before turning on him. Spyro stood stock still, stuck in an immobilizing fear as the 5 remaining spiders slowly approached him while Sparx was doing everything he could to pull his brother's mind back from the brink.

"Spyro, come on man snap out of it." Sparx whispered, as the spiders continued their advance. After a few more attempts Sparx forgot about being quiet and began screaming into Spyro's ear. The spiders broke out into a full sprint at the yell. As the spiders closed the gap, Sparx did the only thing he could do at the moment. He screamed in fear as the spiders were nearly on top of them both.

 **(A/N) Sorry for the cliffhanger but I felt it was the best place to end this chapter. Don't forget to R &R everyone! Read how Spyro and Sparx escape these remaining horrors in the next installment of Rise of Hope!**


	6. Chapter 6

**(A/N) I know that I said that I would not be able to post for a good week, but I've had time in the 14 hour drive(Seriously, It was a pain in the ass to sit there for 14 hours straight.) and I was able to get my next chapter done. I'd usually promise another by tomorrow but truthfully I have no idea. Other than that awful drive, it has been amazing for my trip! We headed for D.C. and it's been near non stop touring. Later we have a baseball game to go to and then hopefully I'll have some peace and quiet. But anyways I'm rambling, without further ado here is the next chapter of Rise of Hope!**

A scream threw Spyro back from the endless nightmare that his mind had created and into harsh reality as he realized that the approaching spiders were about to rip them both to shreds. As the absolute hopelessness of the situation beared down on him, another voice that sounded completely foreign to him spoke inside his mind. "Have you fought to the very last breath? Are you going to give up after all the fighting and distance you had gone?" Spyro suddenly registered shock as he felt a strength well up within his body and pervade every sense of his being. Spyro rose to the sky without the use of his wings as time slowed down and then he heard the voice again. "You are not giving up now, and you will fight to the last drop of blood in your body! Now, show them their error in attacking you and unleash the fury that is contained within hell's raging inferno!" Spyro then felt the energy flowing through every inch of his body suddenly yearning for release. Spyro obliged and released the energy contained within him, unleashing a brilliant wave of fire that swept through the battlefield. As the firestorm engulfed the battlefield, the spiders that were charging him were almost immediately turned into ash. The fire showed no remorse as it torched the living and dead alike, turning the countless bodies that littered the battlefield into nothing more than dust and ash. As the firestorm died and the raging flames were extinguished, the voice spoke once more.

"Good, learn to master the dragon's fury that lies within you and nothing will be able to withstand the magnificent blaze that roars within the heart of every dragon." Spyro nodded as he slowly floated downward towards the ground. As Spyro finally landed on the earth he had multiple questions for the voice, but they had to wait as the moment he touched ground an unforeseen wave of weariness crashed onto him. As his strength was ripped away, his vision began to darken and he attempted to fight it and continue through the chambers but it was a fruitless resistance. His fatigue finally managed to force him to succumb to the darkness that now covered his vision.

Sparx remained in shock by the turn of events that had lead to his brother being an unconscious heap on the floor. He had believed that they were going to die to the poisonous bite of the attacking spiders and in his panic never noticed that Spyro had floated off the ground. He finally noticed Spyro floating off the ground and gawked as he watched flames grow out of thin air and gather around Spyro, shielding him from view and growing brighter with each passing second. When the spiders seemed to be inches from reaching Spyro's shield of flames before it suddenly erupted in a fiery blast, flaring brightly and causing Sparx to shield his eyes from the flames. He felt the flames wash over him but they didn't burn, they seemed warm and comforting as they passed him and crashed against the walls of the chamber. Sparx stared in awe as he watched the chamber have ash float towards the ground, creating a scene that was as hauntingly beautiful as it was devastating. Sparx focused on Spyro once he saw him collapsed on the ground, the ash dappling his scales with their grayish tint. As Sparx flew closer, his face was riddled with worry as he expected the worst but that quickly turned to relief as he noticed Spyro's side slowly rise and fall in a slow rhythm. Sparx reached Spyro's face and then began to attempt to wake him up. He first tried to wake him up by smacking his snout over and over again but he didn't even flinch from the smacks, due to Sparx not being able to get much of a punch to his hits and to the size of Spyro compared to him. Sparx then rose to one of his ears and began shouting at him.

"Spyro! Wake up! We need to get moving cause if we don't we are going to be spider food!" Upon hearing these words, Spyro began to stir. Taking this as a positive sign, Sparx continued to shout at the unconcsious dragon in an attempt to bring him back to consciousness. After several minutes of shouting and at the limits of his strained vocal cords, Sparx finally managed to wake Spyro from his unconscious state. As Spyro struggled to wakefulness, he could hear someone but that quickly died away as he looked around the chamber. Spyro was confused for a moment, as all he registered was the unnnatural tiredness in his body as he looked around the room before it all suddenly came rushing back to him. Ignitus, the Temple, and the battles all flashed through Spyro's mind as he ran through his memories again to remind himself why he was there. Spyro shivered as he remembered his near death at the hands of the spiders that were inhabiting this cave before he unleashed some sort of power, a dragon's fury is what the voice called it, that completely wiped out all of the attackers with alarming efficiency and speed. As he remembered the voice Spyro wondered where the voice came from. It obviously wasn't any voice that he had ever heard in his life, he knew that for sure, so he had to wonder whether the source was real or not. It was possible that it was something that he made to gather courage and to unleash that blast of fire, Spyro concluded. But before he could think on this any further, Sparx decided to get his attention.

"Spyro! What the hell was that!? One wouldn't move for anything and the next you exploded in a fireball and destroyed the place! What happened man?" Spyro winced slightly as he listened to his brother express his anger and worry.

"I have no idea Sparx, one moment I thought I was a goner and the next it just happened." Spyro replied, not willing to admit to him that he followed the instructions of a voice in his mind that suddenly appeared out of nowhere and caused him to unleash a firestorm.

"When we get a chance Spyro, we are going to have to figure out just what happened and what else is going to happen. This is just too weird, especially considering that just a few days ago I was wondering why you had wings when you couldn't even fly properly." Sparx admitted, while Spyro couldn't help but agree with him. Everything has changed so quickly and he had no idea what to do about it. He was told that he was a prophesized dragon that'll make a mark on history, but he didn't know what to do that could make a mark or if he even wanted to make one. Spyro sighed before attempting to get back to the task at hand. He had to continue through the tunnel and make sure that it was clear so they could finally enter the Temple. As Spyro pulled himself onto his feet, he nearly collapsed again as his protesting body which was tired beyond belief. He had no choice but to continue on, against the protests of his body. He slowly walked down the next tunnel, hoping that this lead back to Ignitus and not to more creatures to fight. While he wasn't hurt immensely, a few bruises from the chaotic melee, he knew that he was too tired to fight properly. He could barely walk without his paws demanding to rest each time he took a step. If Spyro encountered any more enemies, he knew that he most likely wouldn't be able to win. As he neared the tunnels end he saw that it would open up into a far larger chamber than the others that he had gone through. Spyro hesitated at the end of the tunnel, still sheltered within it's protective shadow. He couldn't poke his head out to check the chamber without most likely being spotted and from where he was it was impossible to see most of the chamber since the tunnel came in at an angle that allowed most of the chamber to remain out of view. Spyro steeled himself as he tried to keep himself from inventing new horrors that could be in the chamber ahead. In a rare moment of clarity, he shook away the thoughts and prepared to meet the problem head on. Ignoring the weakness in his body from the exhaustion that he has given himself no time to recover from, Spyro burst from the tunnel with claws ready to tear any resistance to shreds. Instead what he met was a surprised Ignitus, who seemed to have been waiting for him.

"Spyro, you've made it. I was growing worried since it had been a while since the door had opened but I didn't see a single trace of you when I walked inside." Ignitus said, the traces of a smile seeming to grace his face. Spyro couldn't help but smile slightly himself, glad that he wasn't completely focused on how hopeless the situation was. Spyro then decided to ask a question that he hoped the guardian would be able to answer, but he couldn't ask it yet as his brother was still in the room and would most likely write it off as something that Spyro simply made up in his head during his panic. Ignitus noticed the confusion written on his face and was beginning to ask Spyro what the issue was before suddenly being interrupted by the apprearance of multiple apes. Spyro immediately tensed himself as he prepared for the upcoming brawl but suddenly his legs, having their exhaustion ignored for far too long, decided that they would not work anymore and he felt himself collapse onto his side as he struggled to make his protesting muscles listen to him. Ignitus watched the young dragon struggle for a few moments before he felt his own anger and determination well up inside of him. He could stand aside no longer and continue to mope in his pity. Ignitus didn't know how, but Spyro had instilled within him confidence and pride again. He'll finally begin his attempt to return some pride from his failure years ago and protect Spyro to the best of his ability.

"Spyro, stay where you are for this. I'll show you exactly how a guardian handles a battle." Spyro watched as Ignitus positioned himself between him and the apes. The apes, which numbered at least 20 or more, laughed at the larger dragon and their leader decided to taunt him.

"Cynder will be pleased to know that we have found you. You won't escape and we will enjoy beating your miserable body into the dirt. We can't wait to see how much of a price your wings will catch with Cynder." The apes grinned and laughed with their leader as he continued his attempts to demoralize Ignitus. Ignitus simply ignored them as he prepared himself for battle. After some more threats and taunts, the leader suddenly stopped and let out a howl as the apes rushed the dragon. Spyro gasped as he watched Ignitus faced down the horde and as soon as they had gotten close, he unleashed a wall of flames from his maw that swept over the apes. While some had managed to escape the blaze, all of the apes closest to Ignitus were burned to a crisp as the apes closer to the back of the group jumped out of the way of the flames but didn't escape unharmed. Many of the surviving apes had burns now covering various parts of their body. The leader, who had lead the charge, was nothing more than bones and ash from the devastating inferno and this caused the other apes to hesitate as a few attempted to encircle the dragon. At this hesitation Ignitus swung his tail at the apes attempting to encircle him and sliced their bodies into various pieces as blood, guts, and bits of flesh and bone flew from his precise and deadly strikes. His tail eliminated the apes at his sides with at a surprising speed that shocked the other apes. As the apes stood there in shock, one of them seemed to suddenly gather his courage and charged recklessly at the dragon with his comrades suddenly jumping into the pursuit. Ignitus raked his claws through their ranks, cutting them down without mercy as he also shot his head forward with lightning strikes to various apes as he ripped away heads from their bodies or limbs from their sockets. He sliced through the attacking force rather quickly and was left with a few apes here and there that lost all sense of duty and fled from the draconic killing machine.

"That Spyro, is the strength that we Guardians possess." Ignitus said as Spyro looked on in shock. He had ripped through them with seemingly no difficulty and he was surprised that someone like him could be beaten. This thought caused Spyro's blood to run cold as he imagined the strength of their leader, Cynder. Cynder had taken down 3 of the Guardian and had lead an army to conquer the islands, he could only imagine the amount of power that this dark nightmare commanded. Ignitus ripped Spyro away from his waking nightmare when he turned to him and said, "Are you alright Spyro? You collapsed and seem to be having trouble getting back up." Spyro shook away the monster haunting his mind and said, "No, I'm alright Ignitus. I'm just a bit exhausted from the fighting. I'll be alright, we still have to clear the temple."

"No Spyro, I doubt that you will be able to continue the fighting for the temple. Rest here since it's clear for now and I'll be able to clear the rest of the temple." Ignitus didn't wait for a reply as he turned and exited through the doorway behind them deeper into the temple and leaving Spyro to his own devices.

"At least the big guy is finally doing something instead of moping about and we can get some good sleep." Sparx said as he settled himself on Spyro's horn. While Spyro didn't want to admit it, he could desperately use the rest and it was likely that he wouldn't get any more for quite a while. Spyro curled in on himself and tried to get some rest on the broken floor as the sounds of battle drifted past the broken doorway. As he slowly drifted off to an uneasy sleep, his mind deemed it fit to remind him of the many nightmarish creatures that plague his mind.

The scenes of devastation were everywhere. His home and the dragonfly village were burning to the ground and giving light to the destruction all around. Spyro couldn't move, only watch as the screams of those trapped inside reached him but he couldn't move from his spot no matter how hard he tried. As he struggled against the invisible chains that held him to the ground, he heard a sickening crunch behind him. He whipped his head around quickly but couldn't catch the source of the noise. Whatever had held him at that moment decided to give way, allowing him the chance to move toward the source of the noise. As he came closer, the crunching got louder and soon seemed to be all around him. As he turned the corner of another building into the town square, he was horrified at what he saw. He saw Ignitus who had his stomach ripped open and various gaping wounds littering his whole body with various bits of bone poking through the horrendous damage. His skull seemed to have been partially crushed with one eye left wide open in absolute terror. Even in his horror, Spyro could hear another crunching sound and now could identify where it came from. A figure rose from behind the corpse, scales dark as night and constantly shifting almost like shadows. The eyes were white and dead of all emotion and the wings seemed to span the area of the square and was easily enough to envelop him in their dark embrace. As it's eyes focused on Spyro, he could feel the bloodlust and glee rolling of the creature in waves at the prospect of a new victim. Spyro could only stare, rooted in terror as the dark monster wrapped it's wings around Spyro and shrouded him in suffocating darkness. The last thing Spyro felt was something wrapping around his body and slowly crushing him in an unnatural grip.

 **(A/N) Scary stuff am I right? Even before setting off on his quest, the pressure is already hitting him hard. Hopefully I'll be able to get another chapter off in a few days, so cya later with the next installment of Rise of Hope!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Long time no see! I know I know, it's been months and I'm pretty sure most if not all of you thought this was dead, but don't worry! I've just had the worst case of writers block and school work to ever hit mankind. Now with a computer class focusing on completing work on your own time, I can work on this story more often when I have the time! Now without further ado, the next chapter in Rise of Hope!**

Spyro woke in a frenzy, lashing out at the dark horror visible only to his fearful and frenzied mind. His claws struck out at the air around him as he attempted to strike at his invisible attacker before bouncing painfully off of the many stones littering the area. He felt the pain lance through his paw, jolting his mind away from his nightmarish figure and forcing Spyro back to reality. He remained still for a moment, his ragged breath reverberating through the empty room as he attempted to gather the few nerves that remained after his chaotic episode. Shaking slightly as the dream defiantly persisted to linger on the edges of his mind, he turned towards the door leading into the battered temple before finally noticing Sparx was nowhere to be found.

"Sparx," called Spyro, "Where are you?" Hearing no reply Spyro slowly walked towards the door, trying not to wince as his injured paw cried out in protest with every other step. Walking through the threshold led him into a large ornamental hallway with decorations scattered among the debris gathered since its collapse. The sight filled Spyro with a mixture of wonder and sadness as his mind roamed with him; old piles of rubble and debris suddenly receding upwards into the ceiling to take their place once more as his mind fixated on the image of the hall when it was at the peak of its glory. He slowly maneuvered his way to a large door standing at the end of the hall, the golden linings and wooden craftsmanship long since faded into nearly unrecognizable swirls and figures containing none of the beauty it once held.

Forcing open the rusted door, his jaw dropped as he entered expansive room. The room's walls were deceptively simple but Spyro could see various burns and claw marks adorned the walls, showing the room to have housed multiple battles. In the center of the room stood a statue of an imposing dragon in a glorious moment of triumph. The statue contained a sort of regality to it, but the statue couldn't hide the way the golden eyes seem to contain nothing but contempt for whoever it laid eyes on. Shifting his eyes away from its gaze, he focused on the doors lining the circular walls of the room. Glancing at the stone statue one last time, he hesitated for a moment before turning right and heading for the first door on the right side of the statue. Pushing against the door, Spyro found the door only opened partially before catching against some of the rubble spread across the hallway. Curious to what lay beyond the door, he attempted to squeeze through the narrow opening. After several attempts, he found he had no chance of entering the room for now. Sighing, he turned away and continued along the wall until he reached the next door. Approaching the door, he noticed very little of the door remained on the hinges with the rest scattered along the floor and further inside. Approaching the threshold, he noticed a strange scent coming from further within the darkened hallway. Curious, Spyro cautiously traveled further into the darkness. As he traveled further down the hall, he could feel his sense of trepidation growing before he reached a ragged curtain with an egg and an unrecognizable group of symbols underneath signifying the rooms purpose. He hesitated for a moment, feeling a large uneasiness weigh down on him as he stared at the flimsy barrier. Pushing aside the curtain, he took his first steps into the dim room and was immediately met with a sickening crack. The sound caused Spyro to look downwards at the source and he found himself looking at the remains of some sort of shell. He stared at the pieces for a moment longer before turning back to the curtain. He gripped what remained of it with his mouth and gingerly pulled it aside to allow more light into the room.

With the curtain out of the way, Spyro saw that the room was filled with multiple pedestals as high as he was littering most of the room in various states of destruction. Eggshells littered the ground, with many showing signs of being stomped or smashed. At the far end of the room, an ornate pedestal lay bare underneath a ravaged flag hanging from the ceiling. Stepping lightly around the shells and debris, Spyro cautiously traveled towards the empty pedestal. As he came near, his eyes focused on the flag situated behind the pedestal. The flag hung to the ceiling by a thread with most of the flag unrecognizable through various claw marks and rips throughout the fabric. Even with the rips and tears that rendered the flag a shell of its former self, a single picture remained recognizable. A picture of a purple egg was the centerpiece of the flag, the only portion still partially recognizable amidst all the damage to it. Spyro stood there, transfixed on the image, as he felt as he felt a sense of familiarity to the image. Being intently focused on the flag, he didn't notice a small form hovering next to his ear. He couldn't help jumping slightly when he suddenly heard the voice speak, "So Spyro, what are you staring at?"

"Sparx!" Spyro exclaimed, " Where did you go? You weren't with me when I woke up earlier."

"I went with our golly red giant to check out the temple and make sure he got all those idiotic apes. You finally got the guy to stop moping around and do something instead of letting us do all the work." Sparx explained, " Come on, big guy is waiting for ya." Nodding, Spyro followed Sparx back out the room. Once they exited the hallway, Spyro followed Sparx to the right until they reached a large opening that lead towards a large balcony. Ignitus stood at the end of the balcony, surveying the landscape before him. As Spyro approached he noticed his eyes were distant and unfocused, seemingly lost in thought as he looked over the land. Noticing Spyro, he continued to watch over the land as he spoke.

"Spyro, this was our home," he began "before Cynder attacked and brought the lands under her rule and destroyed everything once held dear to us." He paused for a moment as the memories overwhelmed him before continuing, "This can be our home once more with your help."

"My help?" Spyro questioned, "I know I'm supposed to be the dragon of prophecy and everything but I'm not prepared and compared to your fighting skills earlier, I'm the least qualified for this job."

"As much as I hate to admit Spyro," Ignitus confessed, "my time for heroics is long long gone and now it's left to you to complete this task. I will train you to the best of my abilities before you set out on your quest." Spyro nodded, still unsure if he could accomplish this gargantuan task set before him.

"Now follow me Spyro, and we can begin training immediately."

 **A/N Working on this felt refreshing, especially after being out of the loop for so long! Feels like filler here, but don't worry! I'm making sure everything in this story has some significance to the later plot! Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review! On a side note, I need a beta reader to help with corrections and giving some insight. Message me if you're interested! Until next time on the next chapter of Rise of Hope!**


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